A Food Safari of Aussie cuisines

A Food Safari of Aussie cuisines - The West Australian

Aussies should worry less about identifying a national dish and embrace the diversity of the cuisine under their nose, says Food Safari host Maeve O'Meara.

It's the theme of her latest instalment of Food Safari on SBS, where O'Meara explores "Australian" cuisines.

It's more a multicultural look at the international dishes served up in homes, on barbecues and in restaurants around Australia.

The fourth series of Food Safari also heads to produce markets to give an insight as to where to buy, and how to choose, some hard-to-find fruits and vegetables.

It's more reality than My Kitchen Rules with many of the scenes filmed in the privacy of people's kitchen's and backyards, as well as the beach, and no one gets eliminated.

"We're almost too hung up on trying to find the single dish that defines Australia," O'Meara tells AAP.

The first stop for O'Meara is Darwin and the opening episode takes in Greek, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and indigenous dishes - discovering traditional recipes handed down over generations and now cooked regularly in multicultural Australia.

"The best food is perhaps not found in restaurants but on barbecues, in parks or at the local produce markets," O'Meara says with passion.

"It takes you into those worlds of cuisine and holds your hand a bit and shows you the ingredients and the recipe.

"From a viewer's perspective it's a feast of food and ideas - and people love watching food on television that is cooked in a kitchen similar to what they have at home.

"It makes it achievable."

Although O'Meara has been travelling the globe for more than two decades, discovering food, she admits some of the recipes, preparation methods and tips that are caught on camera this season are even new to her.

"Darwin's food scene is really vibrant and the produce market has the most unusual herbs and vegetables that you will find in Australia," she said.

The size of the Greek population in Darwin also caught her by surprise.

"I didn't realise how big the Greek population is in Darwin and there are traditions that date back to their Greek villages, like how to tenderise an octopus on the rocks.

"Also the way he finishes the octopus when he barbecues it with a little sprinkle of Ouzo - I haven't seen that before and I have spent a lot of time in Greece."

Food Safari series four premieres on February 14 at 7.30pm on SBS One.